Crops › Lettuce (Butterhead) › Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb
Lettuce (Butterhead) in the UK
Miniature variety, perfect for small spaces or containers. Great if you're just starting out or short on room.
Sow window for Lettuce (Butterhead) generally.
Buy Tom Thumb seeds
Partner retailers. If you buy through these links we may earn a small commission. It never costs you more.
How to grow it
You can start these off indoors in trays from March, or sow direct into the soil once the ground warms up a bit, usually from April. Just sprinkle the seeds thinly over a shallow drill, about a centimetre deep, and cover them lightly. Keep the soil damp, and they'll usually pop up in about a week. To keep a steady supply coming, sow a small batch every two to three weeks right through to August. That way, you'll always have some fresh heads ready to pick.
If you've started them indoors, prick out the seedlings gently once they've got their first proper leaves, giving them some space in individual pots or modules. Harden them off outside for a week or so before planting them out after the last risk of frost, which up here in the North is usually mid to late May. Give them about 25 cm between each plant, so they've got room to develop. They do well in containers too, especially the smaller varieties.
Full Lettuce (Butterhead) guide →
More Lettuce (Butterhead) varieties
Track your Lettuce (Butterhead) from packet to plate
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.
Allotment keeper in the North East of England, the voice behind the Tony C Smith YouTube channel, and the gardener who built GrowMore CookMore. Club numbers on this page update as members log their plots. Last updated 3 September 2026.